Running
by Zoe Marie888
Summary: This is a one-shot, which kind of joins onto the end of Season 3 Episode 13  The Wind That Blew My Heart Away  just before the coda of The Weepies – World Spins Madly On.


A/N – so while my computer was being fixed (thankfully it didn't tamper with the memory) I decided to do a (optimistically quick) one-shot. This kind of joins onto the end of Season 3 Episode 13 (The Wind That Blew My Heart Away) just before the coda of The Weepies – World Spins Madly On, where there is a massive thunderstorm and the electricity cuts out on them all. I hope you like, and as always please leave your comments.

I do not own OTH or any of the characters.

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><p>Bouncing an old leather basketball against the Rivercourt's blacktop, Lucas glanced towards the sky for a moment before sinking the ball perfectly into the net. The sun was beginning to sink behind the trees in the distance, casting long shadows across the concrete. The rusty chain nets clink as the ball passes through, and he notices dark clouds rolling in over the horizon. It had only been two days since the last storm, and by the looks of it the weather was coming back, most likely hitting town over night.<p>

Raking one hand through his short blonde hair, causing it to stick up in all directions, Lucas jogged across the court to retrieve the ball, just as the faint sounds of Kill by Jimmy Eat World drifted towards him on the wind.

_Well you're just across the street, looks a mile to my feet; I want to go to you._

_Funny how I'm nervous still, I've always been the easy kill, I guess I always will._

Automatically knowing that it was his phone that was playing a personalized ring-tone, he slid the ball under his arm to search the pockets of his grey hoody, quickly flipping the phone open and holding it to his ear.

"Hey Peyton, how are you?" he smiled into the phone, knowing that she had skipped out of school at lunchtime.

"Luke…" Peyton reply shakily, with her breath catching in her throat and Lucas immediately knew she had been crying.

"Peyt, what's wrong? Where are you?" Lucas questioned quickly, panic rising up his throat and a shiver ran down his back.

_"Ellie's…"_ she stuttered, her voice breaking, and Lucas could just make out various jumbled words. _"River City."_

"Stay where you are, I'm coming to get you," he demanded instantly, quickly bundling all his possessions into a pile before running across the grass to his car. In the distance he could make out Mouth and Skills wandering in the direction of the court, but he didn't have time to stop and explain.

Throwing the car into gear, he streaked across town, heading towards the highway. Speeding slightly he knew that he could easy make the half an hour journey in twenty minutes if he didn't hit traffic, or come across any police cars. Thankfully living in a small town meant that the police force spent most of their time dealing with missing dogs and cats stuck up trees, as opposed to looking out for teenage boys racing to rescue his friend.

Pulling up outside Ellie's town house behind Peyton's old Mercury Comet, Lucas yanked on the handbrake, and almost fell out of the car, tripping over his own feet as he raced up the small path. His heart was pounding as he quickly noticed the police car and ambulance parked on the opposite side of the road, and he pulled open the front door, not bothering to knock, and found Peyton with her knees curled up into her chest in the hallway. Through the open door of the living room he could see two officers and an a member of the EMT standing in a small circle writing into small note books, glancing up as Lucas entered, before whispering between themselves.

"Peyt?" Lucas breathed, trying not to startle her, dropping down to his knees next to her and stretching out a hand to touch her shoulder. Lifting her head up from her knees, her deeps green eyes locked onto his blue ones, and she could feel the tears rising again. Lucas noticed the black tracks of mascara down her cheeks, which had dried into dirty smudges.

"Luke?" she whispered, not fully remembering she had called him, as she had spent the last two hours wishing that this was all a dream, or more accurately, a nightmare.

"What happened, Peyt?" Lucas asked gently, glancing over her head into the other room, but other than a box of CDs scattered across the floor and the stereo skipping in the centre of the vinyl record; he wondered for a moment why someone hadn't turned it off, nothing seemed particularly out of place.

Shuffling closer to him, Peyton buried her head against his chest, gripping onto a section of his white t-shirt, but refusing to allow the tears to form in her eyes. "She's gone, Luke," she whispered eventually, so quietly that he only just heard her.

Instinctively pulling her closer, Lucas could feel the tremors running through her small frame. "Come on, let's get you home," he mumbled into her short blonde hair, looking down into her eyes and pushing a strand of hair away from her face gently, before climbing to his feet and helping her stand.

Peyton's stiff muscles protested slightly as she shuffled out of the house. The sun was just disappearing over the horizon, causing the temperature to drop almost instantly. Shivering involuntary, she didn't protest when Lucas wrapped his arm around her shoulders, driving his car one handed and playing with the end of her hair with his other, and Peyton got a sense of déjà vu, having completed this journey sat in this position once before. She knew that she should move away, and maybe turn the heater up instead, but for once she wanted to feel protected.

They where just exiting the highway when the first flash of lighting streaked across the sky, followed quickly by the rumble of thunder. _'Once again Tree hill was going to get the worst of the storm,'_ Lucas thought in the back of his mind, just as his phone bleeped on the dashboard.

Peyton's eyes instantly flicked to the screen, noticing the words _'Brooke – 15 missed calls'_ were flashing. Moving away from Lucas as though he would bite, Peyton felt her heart kick in painfully. She shouldn't be here, not in this car, not with Lucas and definitely not feeling safe wrapped under his arm. She _couldn't_ be here any longer.

Lucas slid to a stop at the red light, and glanced across at Peyton, wondering why she suddenly moved. He could still feel her shivering, so it wasn't as though she had become too hot. He was glad they had left her car behind, as he knew she still hadn't managed to get the heater fixed. Catching her eyes for an instant, he saw the flash of fear running through them, and he knew from experience what was going to happen next. She was going to run. Run away from him, and run away from whatever she was feeling.

He moved to grab her wrist to stop her, but unfortunately it just made her react faster, and his fingers curled around empty air. Slamming his door closed, she set off at a run down the side street, unsure of where she was heading, just as the sky opened and freezing cold rain bounced against the pavement.

Lucas sat for a split second staring after her. Damn that girl could move fast when she wanted to. Throwing the car into gear as the lights changed, he knew where she was heading, even if she didn't. Abandoning his car at the side of the road, and leaving the hazard lights on so that nobody would crash into it, as visibility was low, he crossed the road. He was unable to see from one side of the road to the other, but he was following what his heart was telling him.

Peyton ran down the sand, not stopping when she reached the water, until she was in up to her knees. The rain quickly soaked through her hair, sticking it together in clumps and trickling down the neck of her leather jacket. Her heart was hurting. There was a pain in her chest that felt uncomfortably familiar, and she just wanted to feel something, _anything_ else. Turning her face up to the sky, the tears finally overflowed, mixing with the rainwater and dripping off the edge of her jaw.

She remembered that Ellie had told her there was nothing to fear, that it was only life, during the last thunderstorm. She could hardly believe that it was only two days ago. Her life had been turned upside-down, again, in just two days, and here she was, again, running away from life, running away from her heart

Lucas watched from the edge of the water, with his heart breaking as Peyton fell apart. He knew it was good that she had stopped running; knowing from experience, that if she wanted to she could run away from what she is feeling with great endurance. Pushing his way through the water, not caring about getting his shoes and jeans soaked, he gently touched her jaw, turning her face so that he could look at her properly, and she opened her eyes to look at him. The flat, dull green eyes staring back at him unnerved Lucas more than anything. The fire that he was so used to seeing, burning uncontrollably, seemed to have disappeared.

Putting his free arm around her shoulders, he was surprised when she flinched out from under his touch. "No Lucas," she whispered, only just loud enough to be heard over the rain and thunder.

Not understanding the problem, Lucas tried again, taking a small step through the water to close the distance again, and he saw the fire return to her eyes. "No Luke, you shouldn't be here. You can't keep saving me." She shouted, her voice breaking at the end, shattering Lucas' heart in the process as fresh tears began pouring down her face. She was pushing him away because she still felt guilty, and she was keeping him at arms length for the sake of her friendship with Brooke.

Ignoring her protests, he pulled her into his chest, wrapping one arm around her back, and looping the other under her knees, pulling her clean out of the water. The sudden movement caused Peyton to wrap her arms instinctively around his neck, and she didn't even object this time to the sudden contact.

Striding back up the slope to the car, Lucas could feel her shaking once more as the sobs ripped through her body and she buried her head into his neck. Yanking open the driver's door, he manoeuvred them both into the car, keeping her tucked into his chest, Lucas was grateful that his house was only around the corner, hoping that he got there before they both got hypothermia.

Driving one handed again, he stripped off Peyton's shoes and socks, throwing them onto the back seat and twisting the heater up to full blast. His feet were protesting against the cold, but he decided to ignore them for the most part, just wiggling his toes inside his soaked through shoes to improve circulation. Abandoning his car half on the sidewalk, Lucas slid out of the car before pulling Peyton out, lifting her easily into his arms again.

Striding up the path, he kicked the front door out of the way, and only stopping once he reached the bathroom. Setting her back on her feet gently, he quickly pushed her leather jacket off her shoulders whilst she kept her head resting against his shoulder. The tears had eventually run dry, but she was still shaking uncontrollably. Reaching over to turn the shower on, he ignored his teenage hormones, quickly stripping off her soaked through jeans and t-shirt, revealing a white tank top underneath, he dumped all her clothes into a pile, which were quickly doubled as he stepped out of his jeans.

Reaching over, he twisted the taps on further, letting the water run through for a moment before testing the temperature with his hand, and adjust the hot tap slightly. Gently pushing Peyton upright again, he quickly decided that it would be safer if she stepped over the side of the bath herself, as he didn't want to slip whilst carrying her. Looking down into her red-rimmed eyes, she understood what he was asking, shuffling across the bath mat slowly. Lucas her a small gasp escape her lips when the hot water hit her skin, and he stepped over the edge to join her, knowing that his feet would appreciate a little warmth too.

"Luke..." Peyton whispered, wanting nothing more than to burry her head against his chest again and forget about the world, but she wasn't about to tell him that. Looking up through the spray for the shower and ignoring the shooting pains running up her legs as the blood returned to her toes, she watched as he moved to touch her shoulder, wanting her to continue talking. "Why do people always leave?" she mumbled, tipping her head back slightly so that the jet of water ran through her hair and partially down her cheeks.

"Oh baby," Lucas whispered, closing the distance between them again, pressing his cheek against her temple so he could whisper in her ear. "They _don't_ always leave. I'm still here... I promise you I'll _always_ be here."

He felt her nod slightly against his cheek; wrapping her hand around a section of the shirt he was still wearing like it was a lifeline, and they didn't speak again until the water started coming through cool a couple of minutes later.

"Here," Lucas mumbled, stepping out of the shower, leaving drip marks across the floor, and handing her a towel out of the hamper before wrapping one around his waist. "Dry off and put on my robe," he continued, pointing to the back of the door where his well worn blue robe was hung whilst stripping off his white t-shirt that was clinging to his chest. "I'll meet you in my room, once I've put this lot in the dryer, and we'll find you something to wear."

Exiting the bathroom, Lucas pulled the door closed slightly and made his way down to the kitchen, throwing everything except her leather jacket into the dryer. He hated leaving her when she was so vulnerable and she needed him to protect her whilst the walls around her heart had crumbled down, but he was a teenage boy after all, and he doubted that he could control his hormones that well.

He heard the bathroom door click open again and her pad gently across the hall, whilst he was wrapping her jacket around one of the kitchen chairs so that it could dry. Following her into his room, he watched silently as she sat on the window sill, following the tracks down the glass with her eyes, and flinching involuntarily when lightening flashed across the sky, quickly being followed by thunder.

Quickly pulling on a pair of shorts whilst she was distracted; keeping the towel draped around his damp shoulders, Lucas crossed the room to his wardrobe producing a pair of comfortable sweat pants, and Peyton gestured for him to throw them across to her.

"They might be a bit big," he tried to joke, and a small smile flickered across her lips as she dragged the material up her long legs and Lucas had to look away under the pretence of finding her a t-shirt to wear.

"Can I wear this, Luke?" he heard her question hesitantly, and he turned to face her as she picked up one of his Keith Scott Body Shop hoodys from the back of his computer chair.

"Er... sure if you want," he smiled, having never refused Peyton anything, as he moved to sit on the edge of his bed, and he noticed her hair was dripping down around her shoulders. "Come sit down," he gestured to a free spot on the bed whilst un-wrapping the towel from around his shoulders, and he gently moved her hair away from her face, squeezing the excess water out with the towel in his other hand.

Peyton sat in silence for a few moments, consumed with a flash back of two days earlier when she sat on her bed with her hair wet during the thunderstorm whilst Ellie gently brushed it out. It was the first time she had ever called Peyton her daughter and she had never wanted that feeling to end. The feeling of having a mom to look after her, someone who cared what time she arrived home, and wanted to talk to her in order to find out her secrets. She might have missed the first 17 years of her life but Peyton wouldn't give back the previous two weeks with Ellie, even though now her heart was breaking.

Lucas could feel her shaking slightly again, and then he heard her yawn. Feeling brave, Peyton twisted around on the bed, pushing Lucas back gently until he complied and lent against his pillows, and she curled up next to him, resting her head against his chest. He automatically responded by wrapping his arm around her waist, holding her gently against his side.

"Everything is going to be alright, right?" she whispered, stretching her arm across his chest and burying her nose into the fabric of the sleeve. She had borrowed his hoody, knowing that it would carry his unique guy smell, which would comfort her, but resting her head against his chest so that she could hear his heart beat was enough to sooth her completely and drag her into sleep.

"Of course it is," Lucas replied quietly, staring down to the girl sleeping against his chest, noting the way she fit perfect into the curve of his muscles above his heart and the way her slender fingers rested against his stomach. Brushing his fingers through her blonde hair, he watched as it dried into its natural waves, he felt a feeling of serenity pass through him, and he fell asleep with the knowledge that he would always be the one to protect her.

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><p>Lucas woke up late the following morning to find his bed empty, with just a small folded piece of paper resting against the pillow. <em>"Gone for a shower – P"<em> was all it read, and Lucas wasn't surprised that she had slipped out whilst he was still asleep. Crawling out of bed and pulling some clean jeans and a t-shirt, he exited his bedroom, grabbing a piece of toast on the way past the kitchen before heading to school.

Pulling into the parking lot, he had a quick scan around for Peyton's car, wondering if she would show up to school, before remembering that it was still in River City. He would get Nathan to give him a lift over there later to pick it up for her. Getting out of the car he immediately spotted Brooke storming her way over from the quad with fire in her eyes, and he remembered that he never did call her back last night.

"Lucas! Where have you been?" she questioned, flipping her long brown hair over her shoulder and fixing him with a piercing gaze.

"Er... Peyton called..." he started nervously, knowing that there was no way of phrasing this without her getting mad.

"Sounds about right," Brooke vented. "One call from Peyton and you totally forget about me and go running off to save her."

Lucas cringed. "It's not like that," he tried to explain, even though technically that is what happened. "Ellie... Ellie's dead," he whispered, and instantly Brooke's attitude changed.

"Oh my god," Brooke breathed, taking one of Lucas hands in hers and walking in the direction of school. "How's Peyton?"

"Not good," Lucas mumbled, turning the corner to head towards his locker and he felt Brooke's hand tighten against his. Glancing up to her, he followed her gaze and spotted Peyton leaning against the lockers, throwing things half-heartedly into her open locker.

Bringing their intertwined hands, Lucas gently pressed his lips to the back of Brooke's hand, giving her the strength to close the small distance to her best friend. Watching silently, he saw Brooke reach out to touch Peyton's shoulder, before pulling her into a hug, after seeing the broken emotions running through Peyton's green eyes. _'Brooke had been through this before, and had the experience to help Peyton through it again,'_ thought Lucas as he hung back, keeping his distance even though his heart was screaming at him otherwise.

Twisting around slightly, Brooke unwrapped one of her arms from around Peyton's back and gestured for Lucas to come over. Letting out a breath, which he didn't even know he was holding, Lucas crossed the small space separating them, wrapping his arms around the two girls and pulling Peyton gently against his chest protectively.

Peyton shifted slightly, lifting her head from Brooke's shoulder to rest against Lucas' chest. Through the consuming pain in her heart, she felt Lucas lips gently touch her hair, and she felt safe. For a moment she wished she could stay here forever, protected from the world by the two people she loves the most, and then she realized that her friends were her family. They cared about her, protected her and knew her better than anybody else, and for a moment her heart ache lessened slightly...

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><p>AN – so it took forever to sort out the ending, having lost my muse for this story half way down, so I'm sorry if it doesn't read quite right, but I hope you get the point I was making. I appreciate any reviews. Thanks for reading x


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